New Beginning
by jellybean96
Summary: "So, have you taken any pictures yet?" "A few. But nothing yet that's really worth remembering. Most of them were just test shots, to get a feel for the camera and how it works. But I know I want the first picture I take in the New Year to be different." "Hmm. Well, personally, I think the first picture you take in the New Year should be of something that really matters to you."


**Hey babes! I have a new piece for you. I'm really, really excited about this one, so I hope you are too. I took part in a Skyeward Secret Santa over on Tumblr and so this is my gift to my lovely friend Orlissa. You guys should go follow her, she's awesome.**

 **This strays from the current canon of the show, so in this, Grant Ward gets the proper help he needs after being captured at the end of season one, instead of being locked up and threatened and called a monster for months on end. I'm not sure exactly the timeline of the show, but I'm pretty sure they mention the winter at some point. So let's go with that. :)**

 **This is a long one, but I'm really happy with how it turned out.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Morning, Ward," Skye smiles as she makes her way into the kitchen.

"Why are you so happy and smiling this morning?" Grant asks her as he fills a glass with some water from the tap.

Skye climbs up onto one of the stools at the counter and leans forward on her arms, smiling at him, "Because, Ward, today is December 1st."

"And there's some kind of significance behind that?" he asks, turning around so he's facing her, leaning back against the counter behind him.

"Well duh. It means there are only twenty four days left until Christmas and thirty one days left until New Year's."

Grant nods his head once, "Ah, yes. The Christmas holiday."

Skye furrows her brows and tilts her head, "Okay, why did you sound so depressed when you said 'The Christmas holiday'?" Her eyes go wide, "Wait, don't tell me that you don't like Christmas. Isn't it in your programming to enjoy anything besides all that boring stuff you always do?"

"Like reading books?" he asks with a small smile.

She nods her head and waves it off, "Yeah, that. But anyways, it's Christmas, Ward. The most magical time of the entire year."

"Guess I'll just have to take your word for it," he tells her, moving out of the kitchen and to one of the couches in the adjacent lounge room. He sits down on the couch, pulling the book he'd been reading earlier back into his lap, setting his glass of water on the table.

"Hang on," Skye moves away from the counter and over to Grant, sitting down on the coffee table in front of him. "You really don't like Christmas?"

He sighs, setting his book down to look up at her, "Christmas at my house was never really about us kids and getting presents and singing Christmas carols. Since my dad was a senator, he always threw an extravagant party on both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve for all of his political acquaintances and most loyal supporters. He and my mom never paid much attention to me and my siblings during the holidays. And Christian didn't make things much better by continuously tormenting me and Thomas throughout the holiday. The only genuine attention we ever really got around Christmas was from my grandmother."

"You mean your Gramsy?" Skye gives him a small smirk.

He closes his eyes and makes his lips tight, somewhat regretting letting that one tidbit slip out so long ago. He opens his eyes again to see her still smiling. "Yes," he nods his head. "Gramsy was the only one who ever truly cared about us, especially around the holidays. Now, I'm not going to say that I love or hate the Christmas holiday, but Gramsy made it at least somewhat bearable for me."

"Well then it's a good thing that I am here to help you see what Christmas is really all about," she smiles at him.

He furrows his brows, "Why are you so excited about Christmas anyway? I thought that growing up in an orphanage would kind of put a damper on a holiday that is so centered on being with family."

Skye shrugs, "I guess so. But the nuns still tried to make it enjoyable for all of us. I mean, we didn't get a ton of presents or anything, because they wanted us to focus on the birth of Christ and all that stuff. We did a lot of charity and volunteer work around Christmas. I still kind of liked the holiday, though, despite not having a real family to celebrate it with. But since I'm all grown up now and have a place big enough to decorate and people that I care about to celebrate with, I think I might actually love Christmas this year. And New Years too."

"Does this mean you're going to try and drag everyone on this base into all of your holiday antics?" he asks her.

She lets out a small laugh, "You used the word 'try'. That's so cute how you think I won't actually succeed." She leans forward, "I've got skills, Grant Ward, skills you've never seen before."

He swallows thickly, "I think I'll just take your word on that one too." He lifts his book back up, "And uh, good luck with coercing everyone into helping you, especially May."

She leans back and groans in slight frustration, "Oh come _on_ , Ward. Don't you think this place would look great all decorated for the holiday? All the different colored lights strung up, the paper snowflakes on every wall, a stocking for each of us hanging up, even a large Christmas tree standing in the middle of the room."

He doesn't look up from his book, "Hate to break it to you, Rookie, but SHIELD doesn't exactly have boxes of Christmas decorations lying around for people to use."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that. Which is why," she moves off of the coffee table and sits next to him on the couch, turning to face him, "I'm going to go out and buy some."

He looks up at her, "And where exactly are you going to buy Christmas decorations? Because in case you haven't noticed, we're kind of in the middle of nowhere. Plus, I don't think that the middle of a war with HYDRA and the U.S. government is the right time to be celebrating Christmas."

"But it _is_ the right time," she says, scooting just a tad bit closer to him. He shifts nervously. She leans closer to him, "When is a better time to celebrate a holiday like Christmas and New Years than a time like this? Everyone's here, and this building is huge, so why not?"

Grant sighs, lifting his book back up, "Do whatever you want to, Skye. But I can't promise you that I'll be very enthusiastic about this holiday."

"That's alright with me," she smiles, sitting up straight. "Just know that I am definitely going to buy everyone here an ugly Christmas sweater to wear on Christmas Day. Including you." She stands up from the couch, "Maybe I'll get you one with a big robot or a bunch of little robots on it." She smiles at him once more and then turns to make her way out of the lounge and towards her room.

Grant just chuckles and shakes his head, turning his attention back to his book.

* * *

"Ward."

Turning his head, Grant sees Tripp approaching him. "Tripp," he greets the other agent with a slight nod of his head.

"Hey," Tripp stops in front of him, "I have a question for you."

"I'm listening."

"Has Skye always been so enthusiastic about Christmas?"

Grant chuckles and looks down before looking back up at Tripp, "She got to you too, huh?"

Tripp nods his head and laughs quietly, "Yeah. She ambushed me outside the gym after my workout and started talking to me about decorating this place for the holiday."

"Yeah, she talked to me about all of that earlier this morning, too."

"What did you say to her?" Tripp asks.

Grant shrugs, "Not a whole lot. I just told her that right now probably isn't the best time to try and celebrate the holidays. You know, considering we're in the middle of a war with HYDRA and the government."

"Wouldn't that be the best time to celebrate it, though?" Tripp asks him.

Grant groans, "She convinced you too?"

Tripp laughs, "She didn't have to convince me of anything, man. I love the holidays, especially Christmas. That was always a really fun time at my house growing up."

"Then you are more than welcome to join in with Skye on all the festivities and getting everything ready, even though SHIELD doesn't have any Christmas stuff on hand and the nearest store is probably hundreds of miles away. But knowing Skye, I'm sure she'll find a way to make it all happen."

"Don't you want to help her out?" Tripp asks him. "You know, get to know her?"

"I know her plenty," Grant states.

"Maybe as her former S.O., but don't you want to get to know her on a more personal level?" Tripp smiles at him.

Grant shifts on his feet, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "And why would I want to do that?"

"C'mon, man," Tripp reaches a hand out to Grant's shoulder, "I see the way you look at her when she isn't looking. You're in deep, Ward."

Grant stiffens slightly before relaxing, "I honestly have no idea what it is you're talking about."

Tripp removes his hand and nods his head, "Sure you don't. But all I'm going to say is this. I know Skye is talking to you again and acting civil, which is great, but if you help her in celebrating Christmas, you are sure to earn some points that'll help get her to start trusting you again and maybe more if you're really lucky." He starts backing away, "Just think about that." He turns and walks away, leaving Grant alone to his thoughts.

* * *

"Which one of these do you think would be better for Fitz?" Skye asks as she walks into the lounge, her tablet in hand. "Ward," she says to the man sitting on the couch.

Grant looks up at her, "Sorry, what?"

She knits her brows together, moving towards him, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, uh, nothing," he quickly reaches for the stack of photographs in front of him, trying to collect them all together. "I was just, not doing anything."

She raises an eyebrow, "You honestly expect me to believe that?"

He opens and then closes his mouth, not sure what to say.

She sits down next to him and holds her hand out, "Let me see." When he doesn't move a muscle she reaches out for the photos herself. She holds the stack in her hands and begins sifting through them. She looks up at him, "Are these...?"

"Pictures of me when I was little?" He sighs and nods his head, "Yeah."

She smiles down at the photos, "Oh my goodness, you were such a cute kid. How long have you been holding onto these?" she asks him.

"Ever since I've been with SHIELD, I guess. My Gramsy is the one who insisted I keep these, so I did. But I've never pulled them out and looked at them, just kept them in a box. I was, uh, I was kind of worried that after you guys found out about...me, that Coulson would have tossed all of my stuff. I guess I'm glad that these made it through," he reaches out and takes some of the photos from her.

"So why did you decide to pull these out?" she asks, looking up at him.

He shrugs, "You got me thinking. After we talked the other day, I remembered all of the hard work my Gramsy went through to try and make Christmas a fun time for us." He keeps sifting through the stack in his hands.

"Looking for something in particular?" Skye asks him curiously.

He nods his head. "Christmas at Gramsy's house always required us to take a picture. She insisted on it, and you didn't say no to Gramsy."

"She sounds like my kind of lady," Skye smiles.

He smiles back at her, "I think she would like you. You kind of remind me a little of her, actually."

"Old and frail?" Skye jokes.

Grant shakes his head, "No. Strong, fearless, independent, doesn't let people walk all over her, stands up for what she believes in, and beautiful."

Skye feels the heat rushing to her cheeks so she ducks her head and clears her throat. She looks back up at Grant, "Well, she sounds like quite the woman."

"She is," Grant smiles at the thought of his grandmother. He turns back to the photos and sets a few off to the side before he finally finds the picture he was looking for. "Here it is," he holds the photo out to Skye. "I'm the one in the middle," he informs her.

She takes the photo from him and immediately breaks into a grin, "Oh my goodness. This photo is better than I could have imagined. And even if you didn't tell me, I could have figured out which one you were. Those eyes aren't so easily forgettable."

Now it's his turn to blush.

"Hey," Skye speaks up again, "who's the girl in this photo?"

Grant's smile falters just a bit, "That would be my older sister, Rose."

"I didn't know you had a sister," Skye tilts her head slightly.

"Not many people do." He leans back into the couch; Skye follows suit, leaning into it with her shoulder instead of her back. "Rosie is the only one of us kids who actually managed to escape mom and dad and eventually Christian," he explains. "She's only younger than Christian by about a year, but she somehow avoided being tormented by him."

"Do you think he had something against hitting women?" Skye asks.

Grant sighs, "I honestly don't know. And I don't care either. I'll never know what went on in Christian's warped mind," he says through gritted teeth, "and I don't think I ever want to."

"Hey," Skye reaches out and places a hand on one of his tightly balled up fists resting on his leg. "Relax, it's okay; you're okay."

He talks a deep, calming breath and then unclenches both of his fists, resisting the urge to link his and Skye's fingers together.

A second later she pulls her hand back. "So how did Rose get away?" Skye asks.

"Her high school boyfriend," Grant tells her. "They'd been friends for a while and then they started dating. I had only met him a couple of times, but I knew he was it for her, I could see it in the way he looked at her; it was just like all the movies Rose made me watch with her. But I knew it pretty quickly; I knew he was the one that could help her escape. And that's what they did. After they graduated high school they packed up and left. I haven't seen her since then."

"Wow. That must've been rough."

Grant nods his head, "It was."

"Did you ever try and find her after you got into SHIELD? I mean, with all the resources we have you should have been able to find something."

"I tried a few times during my first year. I did everything I could to try and find her again, even if I didn't actually go see her, knowing she was okay would have been enough."

"I'm guessing your search didn't go so well."

He nods slowly, "I'm almost 100% positive that she changed her name and appearance. It would have been too easy for someone to connect her to my family if she had kept her name."

"Well I'm sorry you were never able to find her. If you want, I could—"

"Skye, no," he shakes his head with wide eyes. "Don't go and try to find her, please."

"You don't want to know where she is?"

"I do, more than anything. But I don't want to drag her back into the limelight if she doesn't want to be there. So please, promise me you won't go looking for her," he looks at her pleadingly.

She relents, "Fine. I won't go looking for her."

He sighs, "Thank you."

"So you're just going to live the rest of your life not knowing what happened to your sister?"

He shrugs, "I guess so. But even if I never know where she is or what she's doing now, I'll always be glad that she got away from our sorry excuse for a family. And I'm also glad that I still have all of these photos and memories of her," he smiles at the photo still in Skye's hand. "Rosie and Gramsy both really loved Christmas."

"That's nice," Skye gives a small smile.

Grant smiles back, "Yeah. Rosie always helped to make Christmas more bearable for me and Thomas."

"Do you think that could be why you don't really enjoy celebrating the holiday? Because you associate it with all the good times you spent with your Gramsy, Rose, and Thomas? I mean, those are pretty much the only happy memories you have from your childhood so you want to kind of keep those memories to yourself, in a way, and not taint them. And you feel like by not celebrating Christmas with others, you're accomplishing that."

"I don't know, maybe." He looks over at her with furrowed brows, "And where did all that insight come from? That was pretty deep."

"Coulson is basically training me to be the one who reads people on the Index, in a way. Remember?"

He nods his head in understanding, "Right."

"And Ward?"

He looks over at her, "Yeah?"

She reaches out and places her hand on his, "Just because you don't have them here to make more of those adorable Christmas memories at your Gramsy's house, you can always make new memories here. With your new family," she gives him a soft smile. "At least, I like to think you think of us as your family. After all, I consider you a part of mine," she gives his hand a small, comforting squeeze before standing up and making her way out of the room with her tablet, leaving his picture with him.

Once she leaves the room, he stares down at his hands, still feeling the lingering warmth of her skin against his.

He turns his gaze to the image lying on the coffee table and smiles at it. His best memories always came out of Gramsy's house. Maybe it's time to make some more.

* * *

Stepping up to the office door, Ward lifts a fist and knocks twice on the wood.

"Come in," he hears from the other side.

Pushing the door open, he steps inside the room and closes the door behind him.

"Sir," he starts, moving to stand in front of the desk, "I have something I'd like to ask you."

Coulson looks up from the papers in front of him, putting all of his attention on Grant, "I'm listening."

"I'd like to go out and buy some Christmas decorations."

Coulson furrows his brows, "Christmas decorations? Is it really that time of year already?"

Grant nods his head, "Apparently so."

"And you want to go out and buy Christmas decorations?"

Grant nods his head again, "Yes sir. Skye came up to me earlier and she—"

Coulson cuts him off, "So that's what this is really about. Skye talked to you about Christmas and now you want to prove to her that you really are a changed man."

"Sir, I..."

"Ward, it's alright. I understand. But _you_ have to understand that doing this for her still might not be enough."

"I don't—"

"It might take a lot more than turning this base into a Winter Wonderland to earn her trust again."

"I just want her to be able to celebrate a holiday that she seems to be so passionate about. That's all this is about, honest."

"Who are your trying to convince of that, Ward? Me or yourself?"

Grant just stands there quietly, not sure what to say next.

Coulson takes a deep breath, "But, I think despite the fact that we're in the middle of a war, celebrating Christmas might be just what we need right now."

"So does this mean I can go out and get decorations?" Grant asks hesitantly.

Coulson nods his head. "But only if your take Tripp with you."

Grant nods his head, "Of course. But what about this?" He holds up his wrist to show off his tracking bracelet.

"Go down to the lab and have FitzSimmons extend your limits to the state lines."

Grant nods his head, "Yes sir." He turns and makes his way from the office. He stops with his hand on the doorknob and looks back at Coulson, "And thank you, sir."

Coulson gives him a small smile. "Just don't screw up or Skye will hold it over your head for a long time."

"Trust me, sir, I know."

* * *

"When can I take this blindfold off?" Skye complains as Grant leads her through the hallways of the base.

"Just a little bit longer," he tells her, his hands on her shoulders from behind as they walk. He gently swats at her hands that are tugging at the blindfold, "We're almost there."

"I was in the middle of something really important, you know."

"Yes, because I'm sure that looking at pictures and videos of cats in random places is extremely important," he jokes.

"It is," she insists. "It makes me happy, and me being happy means I'll work better when we're on a mission or something."

"That may be the case, but I'm pretty sure I can think of something that'll make you even happier right now."

"I doubt that. I'm pretty sure you don't even know what being happy is because positive emotions probably aren't in a robots repertoire."

He chuckles, "Maybe not. But I like to think of myself as a newer model. We learn and adapt when we're around humans."

Skye's mouth drops open, "Did the infamous Grant Ward just make a robot joke about himself?"

He smiles, "I guess I did."

"Well I never thought I'd live to see the day. I can now die happily."

"I certainly hope you don't," he tells her. "Because then all of this would have been for nothing." He stops them and reaches in front of her to remove the blindfold. He steps out in front of her, a nervous smile on his face, "So, what do you think?"

She starts moving forward, a look of disbelief and wonderment on her face, "Are these boxes of Christmas decorations?"

He nods his head, "Yeah."

She spins to face him, "But where did you get all of this? I thought you said SHIELD didn't have boxes of Christmas stuff just lying around."

"Well, Tripp and I went out yesterday and bought all of these decorations. We also got some things for a Christmas dinner with everyone. And some champagne for New Years."

"How come it's not all hung up yet?" she asks him.

"Because I wanted you to be able to hang it all up and make it how you imagined it to look when you had this crazy idea," he smiles at her.

"Ugly Christmas sweaters?"

"That's not really my department, but I think Tripp found some for each of us that he thought you'd like and think are funny."

"And what about a tree?" she asks.

"Well, we _are_ in the middle of a forest. So I figured we'd go out later and pick one out, cut it down, and bring it inside so we can start hanging stuff on it."

She smiles back at him and then jumps forward, wrapping her arms tightly around him in a hug. Grant stills for a moment, and then slowly wraps his arms around her as well, soaking up the moment.

"Thank you," she says against his chest.

"For what?" he asks, pulling back slightly to look down at her.

"For all of this," she replies, gesturing with her head to all of the boxes sitting on the couches, waiting to be emptied.

"Anything for you," he smiles down at her. "You know that."

She smiles back at him before pulling out of the hug. She takes a deep breath and claps her hands together once, "Alright, Ward, go get Tripp and FitzSimmons out here so they can help us with this. I'm going to put on some festive holiday music, because you can't decorate without it, and then we'll..."

Grant just stands in the lounge, leaning back against the wall, watching as Skye talks to him about what they're going to do. He smiles to himself at the sight before pushing off of the wall to go and locate the other three team members.

* * *

"Alright," Skye beams from her place sitting on the couch next to Grant, her legs pulled up underneath of her, "time for presents." She leans forward and grabs a wrapped box off of the coffee table. It's a medium sized box, covered in silver wrapping paper with little robots wearing Santa hats all over it. "Here, Ward," she sits back and holds the gift out to him.

He shakes his head, "No, I don't need anything. I just wanted to make sure you got to celebrate the holiday. I'm really fine without a—"

"Ward."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and open your gift," she sets the gift on his lap and then bites her lips eagerly.

"Okay, um, I guess I'll open this then." He looks down at the present in his lap and smiles. He looks up at Skye, "Robots wearing Santa hats, nice touch."

She smiles back, "I thought so. Now open it."

"Alright, alright." He looks back down at the gift and starts carefully pulling at the paper.

"Of my goodness," Skye groans. "You're a paper saver. Just rip it off. I promise you won't get in trouble for it," she smiles softly at him.

He smiles back, "Sorry. Gramsy was a paper saver. Guess it kind of rubbed off."

"It's fine," she tells him. "But it looks like we found one way in which Gramsy and I are different. Now hurry up so you can see what I got you. I really hope you like it."

"Well considering you're the one who got it for me, I think I'll love it," he smiles.

Skye ducks her head to hide her growing blush.

Grant looks back down at his present and tears the rest of the paper off, revealing a plain cardboard box. He lifts the lid off of the box and peers inside to find a single Polaroid camera sitting inside. He looks up at Skye, "A Polaroid camera?"

She nods her head, leaning forward to take the device out of the box, "Yeah. I mean, I wasn't quite sure what to get you, you're kind of hard to shop for, but I figured with this, you can use it to capture the things and memories you always want to hold onto. Like the photo of Christmas at your Gramsy's," she smiles. "Also, I know that you're a robot and you totally suck at anything that resembles any form of advanced technology, so I thought a Polaroid camera was more your speed. And for some reason, old fashioned stuff just seems really you." She holds the camera out to him, "Here."

He gladly takes the camera from her, setting its box down on the floor by his feet. He holds the camera carefully in his hands, turning it over and getting a really good look at it.

"So, do you like it?" she asks him.

He looks up at her and smiles, "Yeah, I do. Thank you, this is perfect. I will definitely be putting this to good use."

"And I look forward to seeing what it is you want to capture," she smiles.

"Alright," Coulson speaks up, breaking the two of them from their own little world. "Ward, I have a gift for you as well," he stands from his seat across the room. "And before you start to panic, it's a harmless gift. One I think you might actually like. I didn't go out and buy you anything, but then, you can't really put a price on freedom."

"Sir?" Ward looks up at him expectantly and slightly confused.

Coulson smiles down at him and reaches down for Ward's wrist. He lifts it up and speaks into the metal bracelet, "Disengage bracelet."

Grant looks up at him in disbelief as the bracelet unlocks and falls into his lap. "I don't..."

"You've really proven yourself these last few months, Ward. Your therapy sessions have obviously been helping you a lot. This is your chance; don't make me regret taking this off of you."

"I won't, sir. Thank you."

Coulson nods his head once before moving back over to his chair and sitting down.

"Okay," Skye speaks up, "let's keep this ball rolling. There are plenty more presents to go around." She reaches forward and grabs a present off of the table, "Tripp, this one is yours from me, and I'm not saying it's the best, but it totally is."

* * *

"Oh my goodness, what smells so amazing in here?" Skye asks as she makes her way into the kitchen.

"That would be the Christmas dinner that Tripp and I are making," Grant answers her.

"You can cook?" Skye raises an eyebrow.

Grant nods his head, "Mm-hmm. You can thank Gramsy for that."

"I will," Skye smiles. "Man, where were you all those nights when I was sitting alone in my van eating Cup O Noodles every night?"

Grant chuckles. "Well, this is far from Cup O Noodles. We've got all the fixings here."

"Think I can get a small taste of something?" she asks with a small smile.

"Don't even think about letting her try anything, man," Tripp speaks up as he enters the kitchen, immediately opening the fridge.

"Why would you think I'd let her try anything?" Grant asks.

"Do you really need me to answer that?" Tripp raises an eyebrow, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Grant and Skye both duck their heads while Tripp just smirks.

"Anyways," Grant speaks up, "dinner should be ready in a few hours."

Skye groans, "A few hours? Seriously?"

"Yep," Tripp says. "So keep them grubby little hands outta the kitchen until the food is done."

Skye huffs, "Fine. I guess I'll just have to starve."

Grant rolls his eyes, "Stop being so dramatic, Skye. I know you keep a stash of snacks in your room."

"Been sneaking around my room, Agent Ward?" she raises an eyebrow.

"What? No. You told me about it when the last supply run was made because you had a list of everything you wanted."

"Oh, right. So, I'm going to just go back to my room and relax." She stands up from the counter, "Come and get me when dinner is ready." She turns and makes her way out of the kitchen and back towards her room.

"Alright," Grant speaks to Tripp, "time to finish this dinner before we get a bunch of hungry agents coming after us."

Tripp chuckles, "You got it, man. Let's get cooking."

...

"This dinner looks and smells incredible," Coulson comments from his spot sitting at the head of the table. "Thank you, Ward. Thank you, Tripp."

"No problem, boss," Tripp smiles.

"It's the least I could do," Grant says.

"So can we eat now?" Skye asks. "Because I am really hungry and this food is just _screaming_ my name."

"Yes, we can eat," Coulson says to her with a small chuckle.

"Actually, sir," Grant speaks up, "um, there's something I'd like to say first, before we get started."

Coulson nods his head, "Of course."

Grant stands from his seat and clears his throat before speaking, "Um, I know that Thanksgiving is usually the time for speeches like this, but considering we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving, I thought I'd say all of this now. Thank you. Thank you to all of you, for everything you've done for me. I didn't have the most welcoming and loving environment as a kid, and because of that, I made some bad decisions that I regret. And because of those decisions, I didn't think I'd ever really be happy, I didn't think I'd find people who could actually, genuinely care about me. And then I joined this team and I found all of you. I apologize if this is too sappy for any of you, but it's the truth. You all gave me a chance when I was at a very low point in my life, and you helped me to come back from that and see that there is so much to live for. I don't think I can thank you all enough, but I'm going to do my best to always show you how truly thankful I am." He gives them all a small smile and then sits back down in his chair.

Skye leans over to him, tears shining in the brims of her eyes, "That was beautiful, Ward."

"You think so?" he asks.

She nods her head, "Mm-hmm. It was nice to hear all of that. I guess all your therapy sessions really have helped."

He smiles, "They really have. I'm seeing everything differently now and I'm learning to let go of the past, live in the present, and welcome the future."

"I think that's a great idea, Ward," she smiles at him.

"Grant," he replies.

She furrows her brows, "What?"

"You can call me Grant, if you want," he shrugs.

She smiles softly at him, "Okay, Grant."

* * *

"Hey Robot."

Grant looks up from where he's leaning back against the counter, fiddling with his Polaroid camera. "Hey," he gives her a small smile.

Skye moves closer to him, a glass of champagne in each hand. "I brought you something," she smiles and holds the drink out to him.

He takes it gratefully, "Thanks." He sets it on the counter behind him.

"Aren't you going to drink it?" she asks him, leaning against the counter.

He shrugs, "I haven't decided yet. I'm not much of a champagne kind of guy, so we'll see what happens."

"Oh, come on, Grant. It's the best way to ring in the New Year. You have to at least have a sip of it when the clock strikes 12."

"I'll think about it," he tells her.

"Well you better think fast," she says. "Because midnight is quickly approaching."

"Yes it is," he nods his head, turning his attention back to his camera.

Skye shifts against the counter, "So, have you taken any pictures yet?" She gestures with her head to his Polaroid camera.

He nods his head, "A few. But nothing yet that's really worth remembering. Most of them were just test shots, to get a feel for the camera and how it works. But I know I want the first picture I take in the New Year to be different."

She nods her head, "Hmm. Well, personally, I think the first picture you take in the New Year should be of something that really matters to you. It should be a picture of something you want to cherish forever, no matter what happens down the road. Or you know, whatever you want to do."

"You know, that's actually a pretty great plan."

"Of course it is," she replies. "I'm the one who thought of it."

He just smiles at her, his eyes full of nothing but pure love and adoration for the woman standing before him. He sees so much happiness and joy and excitement in those chocolate brown eyes that have filled his thoughts and dreams for so long.

"The countdown is starting," Coulson announces from his spot on the couch in front of the TV.

Skye grins, "This is it." She turns back in the direction of the TV, holding her champagne firmly in one hand as she waits for midnight to strike.

Grant smiles to himself at the look of pure joy and excitement on her face.

Skye bounces excitedly on the balls of her feet as she counts down with everyone else, "5...4...3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!" She cheers loudly for a quick second and then lifts her champagne glass to her lips, taking a long drink from it.

A soft click from beside her causes her to turn her head just in time to see Grant lowering his camera.

"Did you just take my picture?" she asks him curiously.

He simply nods his head, "Yeah."

"Why?"

"Well, it's like you said, the first picture I take in the New Year should be of something that really matters to me," he smiles softly.

Skye feels the blush creeping up her cheeks again and she ducks her head momentarily before looking back up at him. "I'm flattered, Grant," she smiles.

"I'm serious, Skye," he says to her. "You're really important to me and I regret not telling you that sooner. Maybe if I had, things would have turned out differently. I know there's no sense in dwelling on the past, but I need you to know how I feel; how I've always felt. And I get it if you don't feel the same way, but I can't start the New Year without you knowing. I'm trying this whole honesty thing, I hear it's pretty cool," he lets out a low chuckle. "But anyways, that's pretty much what I wanted to say, so now I'm just going to—" Grant's breath hitches and his eyes go wide when he feels Skye's lips pressed against his, one of her hands on the back of his neck.

When she pulls away, she's smiling, "This new you sure talks a lot. I think I might like it."

"What was that for?" he asks, still caught off guard from the kiss she gave him.

She pulls her arm down and shrugs, "Midnight struck and I hadn't kissed anyone yet."

"Oh," he feels like his heart drops into his stomach, "right, of course."

"And," she continues, taking a step closer to him, "I may have been thinking about doing that for a while."

He tries hard to fight back his smile, "Really?"

She nods her head, "Mm-hmm."

"For how long, exactly?" he questions.

"I'm not too sure. I think deep down I've never stopped wanting to, but I tried to push those feelings away after everything that happened. But I guess I just can't deny these feelings anymore."

"Feelings?"

She nods her head again, "Yeah."

"So, where do we go from here?" he asks nervously.

"Well, we take things slow," she looks down and gently slides her hand into his, interlacing their fingers together. She looks back up at him, "We take all of this one day at a time. We leave everything that happened in the past and just focus on now; on us, honesty and trust. We tried to start something up before and it didn't go too well for us then, but something tells me we're going to do whatever we can to get it right this time around," she smiles up at him.

He smiles back, "Most definitely. And I think I might know a good place to start."

"And where would that be?" she asks.

He sets his camera down on the counter behind him, picking up his champagne glass and holding it in front of him, "That drink."

She smiles wide up at him, clinking her glass against his, "I think that's an excellent place to start."

* * *

 **So? Did you like it? Let me know your thoughts in a review below.**

 **Until next time,  
Jellybean96 out!**


End file.
